Soda companies racing for a new sweet spot

A Monday, June 11, 2012, photo shows cans of ten-calorie soda from Dr Pepper Snapple Group displayed in New York. Coke and Pepsi are chasing after the sweet spot: a soda with no calories, no artificial sweeteners and no funny aftertaste. The world's top soft drink companies hope that's the elusive trifecta that will silence health concerns about soda and reverse the decline in consumption of carbonated drinks. But coming up with such a formula could still be years away. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
— AP

A Monday, June 11, 2012, photo shows cans of ten-calorie soda from Dr Pepper Snapple Group displayed in New York. Coke and Pepsi are chasing after the sweet spot: a soda with no calories, no artificial sweeteners and no funny aftertaste. The world's top soft drink companies hope that's the elusive trifecta that will silence health concerns about soda and reverse the decline in consumption of carbonated drinks. But coming up with such a formula could still be years away. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
/ AP

Zevia is now sold in 10,500 locations - including Kroger and Whole Foods - up from just 850 locations four years ago. CEO Paddy Spence doesn't think Coke and Pepsi's efforts to come up with their own zero-calorie drinks will threaten his company.

"When consumers see a brand all of a sudden with different positioning, they see right through that," Spence said. "They'll say `you're a sugar soda company that has a couple different stevia products.'"

Still, considering their enormous resources, it's likely that soda companies will eventually find a way to make natural drinks with no calories that taste good, says Mike Jacobson of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

"If you look 10 years ahead, we're going to see a different marketplace for sodas," he said.